Women's Basketball

Top seed on the line Saturday when ranked teams collide

Feb 15, 2013

WASHINGTON - It would be hard to script a more dramatic ending to the regular season than the one that will unfold inside the DuFour Center Saturday afternoon on Senior Day. No. 12/13 CUA welcomes No. 23 Moravian to town with the top seed in next week's Landmark Conference Tournament on the line.

The Cardinals' lone loss of the season came last month in Bethlehem vs. the Greyhounds, but CUA has ripped off eight straight wins since, including a 61-43 victory over Goucher earlier this week. Emily Grabiak finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in the win, and the Cards held the Gophers to 28.8 percent shooting.

CUA and Moravian rank in the top two statistically of the following categories in the Landmark Conference: scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense, rebounding, rebound margin, blocked shots, steals, and offensive rebounds.

CUA's win on Wednesday gives the Cardinals 23 overall victories and 12 within the Landmark Conference this season. Both of those marks set the school record for wins in a season, which CUA had set just last season.

CUA puts its 16-game home win streak on the line this weekend. The Cardinals are a perfect 11-0 inside the DuFour Center this season, having outscored opponents by an average of 15.3 points per game. CUA is also holding its opponents to 31.8 percent shooting from the floor and 21.5 percent from 3-point range at home in 2012-13.

CUA has six players averaging at least 6.1 points per game and eight players averaging double-digit minutes. Six Cardinals have led the team in scoring (Owunna, Woerner, Josephsen, Grabiak, McGann, Migash) and five have been the top rebounder (Josephsen, Woerner, Owunna, Grabiak, Briones).

In Wednesday's win over Goucher, CUA held the Gophers to 13 first half points on 20.7 percent shooting from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range. CUA also forced 10 turnovers, converting them into 9 points.

Moravian began the season with 11 straight victories, before falling to FDU-Florham. The Greyhounds, ranked 23rd nationally, lead the Landmark Conference in scoring (70.0), 3-point field goal defense (24.4), rebounding (47.9), and blocked shots (6.2).

Alexis Wright is the team's top player, averaging 16.1 points and 11.3 rebounds. Katie O'Rourke also averages double figure points (10.6). CUA won last year's matchup between the schools in Washington by a score of 56-55 on Emily Grabiak's last-second 3-pointer.